


You and I

by WildeMagnolia



Category: How to Train Your Dragon - Fandom
Genre: F/M, HTTYD - Freeform, Hiccup/Astrid - Freeform, eret - Freeform, heather - Freeform, how to train your dragon, modernau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21539692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildeMagnolia/pseuds/WildeMagnolia
Summary: ““Cmon, Hofferson. Focus.” Astrid mumbled to herself. It was the first track practice of the season, she had to be mentally 100% into this practice. But a certain auburn male sitting in the bleachers made it rather difficult.” Modern AU, hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Astrid - Relationship, Hiccup - Relationship
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Astrid never thought of herself as a loner, but as she sat in her one bedroom apartment on a Saturday night with no one, she was starting to consider the idea. 

She was supposed to be at a frat party with her friends, but instead she opted for a Spielberg marathon. There is really no limit to how many times you can watch the Back To The Future trilogy. She glanced at her phone and noticed she had multiple text messages from Steven Jorgensen asking where she was/if she was coming to “his party”, a Snapchat from Heather showing her out to eat with her parents and a missed call from Rachel. No doubt wondering why she is sitting in her apartment all alone. She loved her friends, but a little alone time is good for everyone. She had a lot on her plateand school was starting in one week. Astrid was trying to prepare as much as she could for her GPS to remain at a 4.0, student council, and track, it was the only thing she could do to keep her sanity. 

A sudden knock sounded at her front door, she paused the movie slightly confused as she made her way to see who it was. She looked through the peep hole with a sigh of relief and opened it. She was greeted with 2 large pizzas, one pepperoni and one meat lovers she could already tell, and a slight British accent. “Hey there A, glad I caught you at home.” Eret said smiling down at her. 

“I’m glad to see it’s you, I was thinking it was Steven for a second.” She said retuning the smile. 

“Nah, Snot wouldn’t be pulled away from the party for any reason, too many girls and booze there!” He said laughing, using the nickname she personally gave Steven, stepping inside when she waved him in. He sat the pizzas on the counter and glanced at the TV with a slight smile. “Back to the Future again, A?” 

“What can I say, I only have eyes for Michael J Fox. He’s just dreamy!” She laughed back, adding a little sarcasm to her tone. 

“Ah-well, lots of guys are going to be disappointed. Me included!” He said while grabbing plates. She glanced away from him, there was some slight truth to that comment that made her uneasy and didn’t want to address it further. Eret and her have been friends since their Junior year of high school when he and his family moved to the United States. It had been a bit of culture shock for him. Berk, North Carolina is quite a bit different from England. Her and Heather were there to make the transition as smooth as possible  
and the three of them were thick as thieves ever since. But for the last few months or so she’s noticed Eret’s comments have become... something slightly over the line of just friends, and that made Astrid nervous. Most people would call her crazy for not jumping on the opportunity. Eret was definitely handsome, but she knew something he didn’t. 

“So, anything new? I have seen you in like 2 days.” she asked him.

“I finally moved in to my apartment fully, though I’m not so sure about my roommate. I think he’s kinda shy, he hasn’t spoken but 2 words to me since last week.” Eret said over a mouthful of pizza moving to the couch. 

“That’s what you get for getting a roommate off the Berk University newspaper roommate add.” She said to him while pressing play. 

“Hey! He could be a gem and we don’t know it. Don’t knock him down quite yet.” 

“I’m not, you’re the one who said you weren’t sure about him!” She defended herself with a laugh. “What’s his name anyway?” 

“Justin, but he had a friend over the other day who kept calling him “Fishlegs” so now I’m confused about the whole thing in general.” Eret said. 

“Fishlegs?! What an odd nickname.” She commented. “But you’re right, he could become your best friend and then you’ll never need Heather or I again.” She glanced at him with a smirk. 

“Aw c’mon A, don’t say that. I’ll always need my two best gals!” Eret said, while putting his arm around her and pulling her down into a hug. They both laughed, knowing their friendship couldn’t be broken that easily. 

As the movie continued they held a light conversation until the end. “I should probably get to bed, I have an early morning tomorrow. Student Council is having a meeting for the ‘get to know your fellow viking’ thing we’re doing for the incoming freshmen.” She looked over and noticed Eret’s gaze lingering. “What?” She asked, why is he staring at her. 

“Mm-oh, I... nothing.” He said, slightly embarrassed. He looked back to her, “I just never noticed your eyes were so blue before.” 

Oh. Oh, well... she didn’t know exactly how to respond to that. “Yeah, um.. do you want to take the rest with you?” She stood up from the couch and walked over, starting to move the left overs into one box. “Maybe you can use it as a peace offering.. ya know for Fishlegs.” She suggested, knowing good and well if he took it home the rest would be gone way before his roommate even woke up. 

“Nothing says ‘let’s be friends’ like cold, left over pizza.” He said with a slight laugh. “But it probably won’t make it home, ya know. I gotta bulk up for wrestling season. Tryouts are in a couple of weeks.” 

“Yeah yeah, you’ve been “bulking up” since we’ve met.” She laughed, knowing he wouldn’t take it seriously. He was by far the most in shape person she knows, he could make the team just by walking into the room. 

“Hurtful, Astrid. That was just hurtful. I didn’t come here to be ridiculed.” He said with a fake sense of woe. 

“What are best friends for but to keep your ego in check?” She laughed handing him the box. As he took it he looked at her with a look she couldn’t quite place. 

“I can always count on you, A.” He chuckled. He stood in the open doorway, “so I’ll see you tomorrow? Lunch?”

“Yeah, just text me where you wanna eat. But not the cafeteria again, though.” 

“Right. Of course, not the cafe. Never again.” Eret said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Astrid.” He leaned over and placed a slight kiss on the top of her hair. When they made eye contact after he had the strangest look on his face, almost like he was thinking of something more. “Sleep well.” He simply said and made his way to his car.

“Night Eret.” She said, closing the door and locking it. Well, that was weird. They’ve exchanged friendly kisses here and there but that’s all they were-friendly. Not wanting to make it more than it was of the situation she brushed her teeth and climbed in bed not looking forward to her 7am alarm. 

————-

Hiccup will be introduced in the next chapter :)


	2. You and I - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The beeping of her alarm isn’t what woke her up, but the sound of her upstairs neighbors practically running back and forth is what did it. She rolled over and checked her alarm. “Ugh, 5:45?” She groaned to herself. The fact that anyone was awake at this hour made her stomach churn. Once she was awake she stays awake was always one thing she wish she could change about herself.

With a few more groans of protest, she decided to make the best of the situation. She stood up and made her way to the restroom to brush her teeth and throw her hair in a quick pony tail. She changed into leggings and a running tank and grabbed her keys and phone and headed on a light morning run. 

Summer in Berk was always beautiful every year. The trees and plants had bloomed to life, the summer evenings had this lazy energy about them, but the mornings were made for running. She looked forward to these mornings all winter long. They always made Astrid feel alive, like she could do anything. As she ran through campus she kept getting lost in her thoughts in prepping for her day. She had the student council meeting and her being a sophomore meant she had to make a good impression. Her father always says first impressions are key in being successful. And she had to be successful as “a Hofferson never fails”. 

There was hardly anyone else out, just a handful of other runners and the occasional party goers completing their weekly walk of shame and heading home after a Saturday night. Out of nowhere her mind drifted back to the night before with Eret and the look he had. She silently thanked the gods that Heather hadn’t been there to see that display. But she wondered if her suspicions were true? If so, how in the world is she going to do this? Eret was her friend. There’s no way she could loose him as that. 

She shook those thoughts out of her head slowing her pace to a light walk to even her breath. The bright orange view behind the tree line suggested the sun was rising. She took off to one of the many trails that lined the outskirts of campus. Feeling like nothing was slowing her down she sprinted and let the air run through her lungs filling her with excitement. Trees lined the uneven path and slight mountains sprinkled the view in the far distance. She could easily become a morning person if all mornings came with a view like this. The top of the hill came into view just as the sun made its appearance for the day. She stood there for a minute paying mind to the spectacular view enjoying the early morning summer breeze. Astrid lived in Berk her whole life, she’s seen countless sunrises but they never got old. Not to her.

Knowing it was close to 7 she made her way back to her apartment, stopping by the coffee shop she visited frequently. Familiar ‘Good morning Astrid!’s greeted her when she walked in. She gave a polite smile and approached the counter. Lots of people she went to high school with now go to the same university or work and live near the campus. The particular person behind the counter was someone she had some classes with but she could never remember her name. 

“Hey Astrid, what can I get for you.” The girl behind the counter asked with a slightly too friendly smile. 

“Hi. Can I have a medium coffee with cream and sugar?” She returned the smile, trying to put a name with a face. Her hair was covering her name tag. Always her luck. 

“You still part of Student Council?” The girl asked. Why was she starting to start a conversation? Astrid was always known as the short one, Heather was the talker. 

“Um, yeah. We have a meeting today actually.” Not that she needed to know that.

“Oh really? I was thinking of becoming a member. I always wanted too in high school but it seemed to always be the same people every year and I never really knew anyone that closely. My friend Jess is in Student Council for BU, do you know her?” Does she not realize it’s 7am? Why is she talking so much? 

“The name sounds familiar.” She said, even though it didn’t. “If you want to come by the meeting is at 9:30, we’ll have sign up forms.” 

“Oh, that would be awesome! I’ll try to swing by, I think my break is then. Thanks Astrid!” She said with a huge smile while handing her the coffee. 

“Yeah, no problem. See you around.” Heading out the door she shook her head. She’s never been a huge people person, but she’s always known lots of people. When she was Student Council President her senior year the entire school would say hello in the hallway and it always felt odd to her. She usually kept to herself or with Heather and Eret if they were around. 

The campus was busier now, she dodged a couple of bicyclist and joggers on the sidewalk. A few more hellos and heys were tossed her direction on her way home. Walking up the flight of stairs to her apartment she noticed someone unlocking the door across from hers from the inside. She didn’t even know someone had moved in, how did she miss that? Avoiding more awkward conversation or eye contact she turned to unlock her apartment as quick as possible until she noticed a huge black blur shooting towards her. 

“Toothless, no!” A very panicked, nasally voice sounded from the door. Gasping, she spilled her still very hot coffee all over her front. Her back was pushed against her door by the black blur, which she now knows is the biggest black lab she’s ever seen putting his paws on her shoulders. 

Since a Hofferson “never shows fear”, she was a little supposed when the barely audible whimper escaped her throat. She scrunched her face and moved her face to the side and her arms up to move the lab as far from her as she could in preparation for the attach she was 100% sure was coming. She felt warm slobber on her cheek and it took her a moment before she realized the lab, this “Toothless”, was licking her face. When she realizes this she can’t stop laughing, she moved to pet and scratch the dog to get him off of her. “Toothless, you know that doesn’t wash out. Ohh, I-I’m so sorry. I promise he doesn’t usually jump on random strangers.” The now calmer but still nasally voice sounded much closer now. She looked up and saw a guy close to her age with messy auburn hair trying to calm the dog down as well.

When he looked up she didn’t expect his eyes to be so bright. She was suddenly very aware of her messy ponytail and sweaty tank top wishing she had taken the time to at least braid her hair this morning. Or mascara. They stayed looking at each other for a bear longer until a loud bark interrupted them. 

“Dah-ah I’m really very sorry about this. He just has a lot of energy, he’s really a very good dog. And he’s really good at embarrassing me.” Auburn said slightly too fast, like he was afraid she would cut him off. 

“It’s okay, really. Just startled me that’s all.” Toothless was panting and looking at her now on all fours. She reached over and scratched behind his ears, and he gave an amused bark. 

“Yeah, he’s good at that too. Startling people, I mean. Not that he makes a habit of it-just he’s a bigger dog. People usually are nervous when he’s around.” Auburn stammered. 

“I promise, it’s no issue. No harm done.” Astrid smiled at him and he returned a slightly crooked smile in return and her heart lurched to her throat. 

“Ah, yes well.. we’ll be headed off now, sorry about everything, again.” He latched a collar on the lab and stated leading him down the stairs. “Well, bud. We know how to make a first impression, huh?” She heard him say under his breath once he thought they were out of earshot. 

Realizing she didn’t even get his name she had a feeling she would be thinking of auburn and green for the rest of the day.


	3. You and I - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

If there was one trait that was consistent about Astrid is that she is a planner. She always has a solid plan with no chance of anything going wrong, and then plans in place after that just in case. Her most read book was her planner-she definitely was not a ‘wing it’ type of person. So you can imagine her distaste when the office of Student Council first was tardy, and then informed everyone that the plan for the Freshman Welcome was to set out tables, make banners and ‘wing it’. “We’ll grab some free stuff from recruiting and stand outside and answer any questions our newest students might have! Anything after that, we’ll uh... we’ll wing it.” The sentence was repeating over and over in her head. “I can’t believe this...” she muttered to herself as she walked out of the building. The meeting lasted all of 20 minutes and she was slightly annoyed with a sour taste in her mouth for the year ahead. 

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, she reached down to look at who was calling. “Hey, Heather.” Remnants of annoyance still on her tongue. 

“Good morning, sunshine. I can practically feel the Hofferson Scowl through the phone. Meeting go well?” Sarcasm dripping through the phone from her best friend. 

“No. No, it did not go well. At all. Apparently we’re just gonna ‘wing it’! Who in their right minds just wing what’s supposed to be a huge welcome for the freshmen. Last years was awesome, remember? They rented out a space in the square and had tables set up from different clubs and schools. They made sure everyone was involved. It was how we found Student Council in the first place! And this year we’re just gonna stand outside the recruiting off handing out free stuff. It just doesn’t make any sense!” She huffed as she walked in the now blazing, humid sun. 

“Ok, ok calm down, girl. You and I will figure something out that we can do under the table to help out. We’ll make our table the best table there!” Thankful for Heathers reassurance she calmed down a little bit. “I was calling to tell you I’m almost back to campus, I was trying to be there for the meeting but I got caught in AM traffic. And yes, I mean sheep as the AM traffic. I got caught behind farmers moving their flock.” Heather said with her own annoyance but was laughing it off. Sometimes Astrid wished she could let things go as easily. 

“Mmm, sheep is the cause or you oversleeping?” Astrid smirked, knowing of her best friends habit of doing that from time to time.

“I promise you it was sheep!” Heather laughed. “Do you have plans for today? What can I interrupt?”

“I’m headed to the library now until lunch. Eret and I were gonna meet up if you wan-“

“WHAT. I’m sorry, you two made plans without me?!” 

“Hey, to be fair we didn’t think you’d be back until tonight. We were gonna call you about dinner! It’s Sunday, you know that.” She defended herself. They all knew Sunday nights were blocked out for their weekly dinner at Astrid’s, there was no way Heather was gonna miss that. 

“Ok, ok alright. You’re right, I’ll forgive you two. This time.” Heather chuckled on the other end of the phone. “And A, don’t work too hard. School hasn’t even started yet.” 

“I know, I won’t. I just need to do some prep work for my physics class, and then I’ll be out of there. I promise.” Both knowing there was only partial truth to that statement. “I’ll text you the time and place for lunch.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye!”

“Bye.” She hung up the phone right before reaching the stairs to the library. “Hello, Ruby.” Astrid smiled once she was inside. The librarian, Ruby, and her had gotten somewhat close last year, as she was here almost everyday. She always reminded her of her own grandmother a little, that’s probably why she led taken a liking to her. 

“Oh, Astrid? I didn’t expect to see you here until school started. What a lovely surprise! How was your summer, dear?” Elderly hands went to her face to push her hair back, and quickly pulled her into a hug that Astrid gladly returned. 

“You know me, can’t stay away too long. And it was great, I spent most of it with my mom and dad. How was your break?” She asked. 

“Hardly one at all, we re-organized the whole library. But I had a few weeks to relax in there.” Ruby said while adjust her reading glasses on her nose. “Somehow I knew you’d be back before classes start, I went a head and reserved your desk for the semester. Is that alright, dear?”

A sense a familiarity washed over her and she was able to set aside the rest of her frustration from the morning. Astrid was truly thankful for Ruby, she always did what she could to look out for the students. “That would be amazing, Ruby. You didn’t have to do that!” 

“Oh it was no worry, dear. I just thought you’d enjoy the same spot. It does have the best view, after all.” Knowing it was also her favorite spot as well.

“Ruby, you have outdone yourself once again.” After offering another thank you, and taking the key to the desk, Astrid made her way to the second story all the way towards the back of the building. The building was the largest building on campus and her desk was tucked away between two book shelves that held books that didn’t see a lot of traffic. It was right next to the window that overlooked the garden the conservation club was responsible for and they always made sure it looked spectacular. That was her favorite part about this particular spot.

Walking up to the desk with the sign “Reserved for: A. Hofferson”, suddenly everything was back on track in her plan. She would spend countless hours here prepping for her future. Going into the Architecture program as her Master and the History program has her minor she knew she had a fight ahead of her, but with her being a Hofferson she never backed down from a challenge. Prepping her desk with her textbook, laptop and notebook she began her prep work. She had intentions to only work on her upcoming physics course, but who was she kidding. She was gonna work on all she could. 

Three hours passed with complete silence and she managed to complete the physics work and the first few chapters of her Historical Foundations class. Rolling her neck side to side she decided it was probably a good idea to stand and stretch for a minute. Walking around to find the water fountain she heard someone walking up the stairs. With a quick glance she looked over and she sucked in a quick breath. It was him, Auburn. He hadn’t noticed her yet, nor had he even looked up from the paper he was holding. Suddenly she didn’t know what to do, which was not like her. Not liking this feeling at all she started to panic and before she could turn around and walk away he looked up and made eye contact with her. He must’ve recognized her because suddenly his eyes slightly got bigger and he looked panicked as well, like he was a deer in headlights. 

With a quick glance back down the starts he was the first one to break the eye contact. He turned around rather too quickly and walked back down the stairs and suddenly he was gone. Astrid was too stunned to move. She wasn’t exactly use to people... avoiding her. Usually everyone is trying to talk to her and be her friend. Walking back to her desk something clicked in her brain that didn’t quite make sense. Why didn’t she say hello first? Why did she panic as bad as he did? At some point they were going to have to speak to one another again, they were neighbors for heavens sake. 

Realizing the time she pulled out her phone and checked her messages. Time usually runs away from her when she’s in school mode.

The Three Amigos Group Chat:

10:45 Heather -   
Did you guys forget about lunch? Lol I’m starving 

10:47 Eret -   
Heather! You’re back in town?! I’ve been waiting for A to text and see where we’re meeting for lunch

10:52 Heather -   
She was headed to the library at 8:30ish, she probably hasn’t even looked at anything else other than her text books

10:56 Eret -   
You’re absolutely right, we might as well pick and she can meet us there. Where you wanna meet, H?

11:00 Heather -   
Jay’s Deli! 

11:03 Eret -   
I was about to say that! Astrid, we’ll meet you there at 12:00? 

11:15 Eret -   
A? 

11:45 Eret -  
...... H, it might just be you and me 

11:47 Heather -   
Lol we should know better by now. I’m on my way, I’ll see you there! 

It was 11:50 now, she quickly packed her stuff and sent a quick apology and that she was on her way. Thankfully, Jay’s Deli was maybe a 8-10 min walk from where she was. 

Arriving at her destination she saw the familiar gray pick up truck in the parking lot hinting that Eret was already here and Heathers bike was in the bed of the truck, which wasn’t unusual. Though what she was when she went inside was unusually. Heather was leaning across the table with goofy smiles on her face while Eret waves his arms around obviously telling some drastic version of a story. She began to think she was interrupting something. Raising an eyebrow she walked over the the table. They hadn’t even noticed she walked in until she cleared her throat. 

“Why, hello random strangers, my names Astrid. Nice to meet you.” She jokingly said while sitting next to a slightly red faced Heather. Astrid was the only one who knew about her secret crush, so Astrid hoped Eret didn’t notice the blush.

“Now, you don’t get to be a smart ass to us, you forgot about our super important lunch date!” Heather said while scooting over to make room. 

“I know, I’m sorry. You guys know how I get.”

“Did you at least get a lot accomplished?” Eret said. Before she could respond the waitress came over and took their order. Eret ordered the pastrami sandwich, Heather ordered the chicken wrap and Astrid the turkey club. And refills of sweet teas, of course. 

She didn’t know what possessed her to bring it up but all of a sudden she blurted out “someone moved in across the hallway in the empty apartment.” 

Eret and Heather looked at her a little oddly, not knowing why this is suddenly important information to share. “And? Did you meet them or something?” Heather asked taking a sip of her drink.

“Kind of. He has this huge black lab that jumped on me. I didn’t get his name though, but he seems cool.” Astrid said, trying to make her sudden burst seem normal. Thankfully neither of them pressed the conversation more. 

A familiar loud group of people walked by the restaurant and noticed the three of them sitting there. Astrid suppressed an eye roll as best as she could when she saw them step into the restaurant. 

“Yo! Astrid, baby! Why’d you missed out on the party last night?” Steven “Snotlout” sneezed into the already small booth next to Astrid. The eye roll she tried avoiding now in full effect, she just ignored his comment saying hey to Rachel “Ruff” and her twin Thomas “Tuff”. Eret, Heather and Astrid met the three last year they’ve all hung out ever since. 

“Snot, I’d be careful if I were you. Astrid’s already having a tough morning, no promises on if she’s gonna hurt you or not. I’d lay off if I were you.” Eret said laughing over his lunch. 

“Aw, cmon Astrid. Don’t be like that.” Snot said, snaking his arm around her shoulders. Without even thinking she grabbed Snots hand and twisted it backwards, a cracking sound came from his arm. 

“Ow, Hey! Why’d you do that?!”

“I told you to not put your arm around me, maybe now you’ll remember.” She reminded him nonchalantly. Both Ruff and Tuff roared with laughter. Eret was fighting back a smile while Heather looked like she was trying not to say ‘I told you so’. It was times like these she was thankful for friends like them. She could have swore she heard Snot say ‘shut up Astrid’, but she might have imagined that.

Ruff spoke up, “Hey, shouldn’t we be going? You told your cousin you’d help him finish moving in.”

“Yeah, yeah we’re going now. See you guys around!” Snot said, still rubbing his hand as they walked out the door. 

When their food arrived they started talking about the new things in their lives. Eret talked about wrestling, Heather told them about her weekend and some crazy prank her brother Darren pulled on their parents. Astrid informed Eret on the meeting that went horribly wrong earlier while she and Heather tried to game plan a table they could be proud of. It was always comfortable around these two, nothing to hide and they could always find things to talk about. When they were finished Eret was headed off to the gym, promising them he would see the both later for their weekly dinner. 

Once he was gone Astrid turned to Heather, “you’re going to have to tell him eventually.” Heather knew exactly what she was referring too but shrugged it off. 

“Astrid, you know I can’t do that. We both know he doesn’t feel the same. It’ll make things awkward.”

“Staring at him with hearts in your eyes isn’t quite helping either. And we all know he’s not bright enough to pick up the hints on his own.” Looking at Heather with a pointed look, Astrid felt bad for her friend. The said crush developed last year and neither of them knew what to do about it. She tried to help, but she wasn’t good in that department. She’d personally never had a boyfriend so she was clueless. 

“You’re right.” Heather sighed. “At some point this semester, I will tell him. I promise.”

Astrid stopped and looked at her best friend with a raised eyebrow. The both starting laughing together knowing the statement that was just said was a bit of a stretch. 

“Okay, okay... maybe this year. Or decade, either way he will know eventually.” Said Heather. “I should probably head back, I’ve got 2 scripts to read before classes start and auditions to prepare for. See you later, A!” Heather hopped on her bike and rode off towards her dorm. 

“Bye, H!” She called after her, starting her walk back to her apartment. Maybe she should get a bike, or use her car more. It’s just a haste trying to find parking, plus it costs an arm and a leg. She was hoping she would see Auburn again on her way back but she didn’t, she even went the long way by the dog park they had in their complex. Unlocking the door to her apartment she stepped inside and sat everything down. Deciding it was probably a good idea to rest for a minute she made a cup of coffee and turned on the TV for a minute. In the middle of the show she was watching someone knocked at her door. When she opened it she was too shocked to say anything, she just started at the guy that was in front of her. 

Thankfully he wasn’t too shocked to not say anything and broke the silence with a “H-hi, um.. I think you’re mail was in my box so I’m just returning it to you, you probably want it. It’s a coupon book.” Auburn said while handing her a rolled up newspaper into her hands. She took it from him with a polite smile

“Thank you, I appreciate you bringing it to me.” She said, for some reason avoiding eye contact. What is it about this guy that makes her act... not herself. 

“You’re very welcome. Astrid is a pretty name, by the way. I didn’t read your mail, just noticed your name. Unless it’s not your name and then well I look silly delivering the wrong mail to you.” Auburn said running his hands through his hair and then sticking them into his pockets, like he didn’t know what to do with them.

She laughed, “yes, that’s me. Thank you, it’s a family name.”

“I’m Henry, my friends call me Hiccup though. It’s a long story. You can call me that too, not saying we’re friends or anything. I mean, unless you want to be then that’d be cool. I mean-not saying-“

“Hiccup.” She stopped him, and he looked slightly relieved mixed with a little embarrassment. The freckles on his cheeks grew slightly pink. “That’s a interesting nickname. It’s nice to meet you.” She reached her hands towards him with a smile. When he took it there was some unspoken connection between them, but they both shook it off just as quick as it came. 

“Well, I’ll just be going now.” He did an awkward shrug and pointed to his apartment. “It was nice to meet you too, Astrid.” He started to walk away back to his door.

“Wait!” Before she could stop herself, “what’re you doing for dinner tonight?”


	4. You and I - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Astrid had decided it was best to not tell the others about inviting Hiccup until they got to her apartment. She wasn’t afraid they would be upset, she knew they wouldn’t, just something inside of her that wanted to keep him to herself for as long as possible. And that’s not a bad thing to want that. Right? 

Convincing herself she was right, she started straightening up her already immaculate apartment. Little things here and there; placing a book back on the shelf, lighting a candle, putting a dish rag in the dirty hamper. For some reason she felt compelled to make tonight more than what is usually was. She was even going to attempt cooking (she’s getting better at it, she’s been practicing.) Astrid even called her mom for her best recipe, which ended up being spaghetti. Piece of cake. She could do this no problem. After she did her whole pep talk routine and gathered all the ingredients she needed, the time flew by. It was already nearing 7:00, the time she told everyone to be over, and the garlic knots were still in the oven and she had pasta sauce on her face. Currently she was FaceTiming her mom making sure she was getting the last details of the meal correct. Her mother was the most patient person in the world (a trait Astrid did not inherit) until is came to cooking, then she was a high strung as they came. This is probably why Astrid is just now trying to learn how to cook.

“No, honey.” A very impatient Ingrid said, “You have to keep them in the oven a little longer. They need to be brown on the top-“

“Ok, ok I’m putting them back in. What about the pasta sauce? Do I put the meat in there now or later?” 

“Dear, you were suppose to do that about 10 minutes ago when I told you. Astrid, baby, why are you all of a sudden deciding to cook tonight? Do you have special boy coming over?” Suspicion and curiosity came from her phone.

Silently thanking whoever was above that her face wasn’t on screen right now to show the mad flush of pink she said, “unless you consider Heather and Eret a ‘special boy’ then yes, I have one coming over. And why is that your business, anyway?” Her and her mom both know that last comment was from the frustration of the whole cooking ordeal. 

“I was just curious. You’ve been in college for a year and so far no special boys, I just thought maybe this was for-“

“No, sorry to disappoint ya mom, no special boys.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, Astrid didn’t know what Henry will be to her, but special wasn’t out of the question. “Just wanted to do something nice for my friends. And they’re going to be here any minute, I’ve gotta watch this pasta sauce off my face. Love you, mom!”

“Love you too, sweetie. Tell Heather and Eret I said hello.” Her mother said and blew a kiss through the phone. 

As she hung up she was slowly getting more and more nervous, which wasn’t like her at all. Astrid doesn’t do ‘nervous’, she was always prepared for everything. She thought back to how the conversation went between them earlier...

“O-oh, umm nothing I don’t think. I didn’t really have plans.” His slightly nasally and anxious voice said.

“My friends and I usually have dinner every Sunday night, you’re welcome to join if you want.” Astrid offered with a slight hope he’d agree.

“I wouldn’t want to barge in on your plans.” His shoved his hands into his pockets. 

Astrid felt deflated. Of course he wouldn’t agree, she met him just that morning. He probably thought she was crazy.

“But, I could do dinner, yeah that sounds great. It’s a date-no! Not a date, not a date, just friends. A friendly date, with you and me and your friends-that is most definitely not a date . And, uh, yeah... um what time should I come over?” Flushing a deep shade of red, he looked down to bury the embarrassment as best he could. 

A not so subtle smile stretched across her lips. “Okay! Yeah! That’s sounds great! Dinner is at 7:00. I’ll see you then?”

“Yeah! I’ll see you then! Great.” A mirrored smile across his lips. 

“Great.” The kept eye contact and the same smile as he stepped back and tripped over the welcome mat. 

“Dah, I’ll-I’ll see you later, Astrid.” He fumbled with the doorknob as he regained his balance.

“See you soon, Hiccup.”

A shrill ding from her phone shook her out of her thoughts. She grabbed it off the counter, it was a text message from Heather that read: “We’re stopping for ice cream and wine, we’ll be there a few after 7:00.” 

The time was 6:55, Hiccup will be here any minute. Quickly she rinsed the rest of the pasta sauce off her face, French braided her hair and touched up her subtle make up. She also managed to somehow ruin the shirt she was wearing during the whole pasta sauce explosion earlier. Running through her clothes nothing seemed right, either to casual or too dressy. Settling on a striped dark blue T-shirt and ripped jeans she heard a knock at the front door. Glancing at the clock it was 7:00, he was right on time. 

Pausing before she opened the door to take a break and say a silent prayer everything went smoothly tonight she was greeted with the same crooked smile from earlier. 

“Hope I’m not too early.” His voice sounded calm with a slight hint of being anxious.

“You’re right on time, my friends are actually the ones who aren’t for punctuality apparently.” She reassured with a small smile. Astrid opened the door and waved him inside and Hiccup paused right inside the door, almost like he was thinking about his next step. 

“Dinner is almost ready, you can take a seat anywhere and make yourself comfortable.” She said trying to be a good hostess, she hadn’t had to do this in so long. “Do you want something to drink? I have water, iced tea, sports drinks. Heather and Eret are bringing wine over, also.”

“I’d love an iced tea. Is Heather and Eret the friends that are coming?” His voice sounded cautions, like he was expecting her to say yes but plus 50 more of her closest friends. 

“Yeah, just those two. We 3 have been friends since high school.” 

“That’s nice you all kept in touch, I don’t really speak to anyone from high school anymore. Well, except for one person.” He commented, still glancing around the living room and his eyes landed on her record player and rather big selection of records in the corner. “No way, these are all yours?” He asked, sounding pretty surprised by the amount she had. 

Astrid smiled to herself walking to the kitchen to take out the garlic knots from the oven. “Well some are my dads that I uh, took without asking but yeah, I’ve always kinda collected them.” She smiled to herself, her dad always instilled the importance of good music in her mind from an early age. It was the one of the many things her and her dad had in common. 

Hiccup looked through the bookshelf full of records, she had all genres from different time periods. Her collection was quite through. “Do you mind if I put something on?” He mused. 

“Go right on ahead.” She chuckled, delighted someone else found her hobby as interesting as she did. She noticed how he took a deep look at her selection, putting consideration into his choice of music. Hiccup stood and without fumbling placed the record on the player, moved the needle over and King Harvest’s ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ sounded from the speakers. 

“It’s a classic.” He reassured her when he noticed she was looking at him the whole time with a sheepish look.

“Its a great choice.” Astrid walked over and handed him his drink. His fingers brushed over hers when he took it from her hands and her skin tingled where he touched. A flush went to her cheeks when she looked up to find his piercing green eyes looking down at her. At that moment her front door flung open and a rather loud “The fun has arrived!” came from her rather exuberant female friend. 

Astrid noticed she and Hiccup were standing rather close to each other, she stepped back and looked up at her friends who were stopped in the doorway looking at the two of them. “Hey, you guys remember my neighbor I told you about at lunch?” She gestured to Hiccup, who looked extremely small all of a sudden. “Henry, this is Eret and Heather. Guys, this is Henry.”

Both of the paused right inside the doorway before grins broke out on their faces. “It’s nice to meet you!” Heather came forward with a polite smile and I introduced herself and Eret. Eret came behind her and shook his hand with a similar greeting as Heather. He did the same reintroduction of himself as he did with her and told them to call him Hiccup. They were always ones for conversation and making new friends and Hiccup seemed to relax a little after the warm welcome. 

“A, did you cook? What did we do to deserve this pleasure? We were expecting takeout.” Eret sounded skeptical, and Astrid saw straight through his comment.

“Hey, it’s not bad I promise. I’ve been practicing! I even called my mom for the recipe.” She defended herself. 

She heard Heather mutter to Hiccup, “she’s really not a very good cook, but she tries her hardest.” 

Astrid shot a sideways glare at Heather and muttered “like I said, I’m learning” as she crossed her arms. Her friend stifled down a laugh and put her hands up in defense. 

“I’m sure it’s not that bad, it smells great!” Hiccup reassured Astrid with a smile. She couldn’t help but smile herself, he looked genuine too which made her feel a lot better. 

“Well, I’m starving. Let’s hope this doesn’t kill us!” Eret said rubbing his hands together ams Astrid connected her fist with his upper arm. Eret shot a exasperated look at her and she busted with laughter. “Yeah, yeah laugh at my pain.” He muttered while grabbing plates. 

“Sorry, but when you make comments like that you’re pretty much asking for it.” She explained, moving the bowl of pasta to the table for them to serve themselves. The four of them all sat down to begin eating when she noticed Eret stand and walk over to the record player and proceed to turn it off to connect his Pandora to the Bluetooth speaker with a Top 40 station instead. Hiccup and she both looked at each other and shared the same look of slight disappointment. Astrid knew they didn’t have the same taste in music, she should have warned him that it wasn’t anything personal. 

“So-Hiccup, what’re you studying?” Heather quizzed while swirling pasta on her fork. 

“Engineering and Graphic Design, I’m double majoring. And then a minor in Fine Art.” Hiccup said, digging into his dinner. When he took his first bite a pleasant but playful look crossed his features. “This isn’t half bad, you guys had me worried there for a second. I definitely didn’t want to die today but I didn’t want to be rude and not eat this wonderfully prepared meal.” The look Hiccup gave her brought her heart to her throat.

Eret filled the room with laughter, “you might just fit in, it seems like you have Astrid figured out. We have to remain cautious if this one here.” He said genuinely while avoiding another fist to his shoulder. “Are you an incoming freshman? I don’t think I’ve seen you around campus.”

“No, actually I’m a junior. I went to a school back home in Georgia for my freshmen, then transferred here but I studied abroad in Europe for my sophomore year for my Fine Arts degree.” He informed the group. 

The group all did a collective ‘no way’. “That’s really impressive. Where all did you visit to study?” Astrid asked.

“Eh, here and there. Mostly France, they have all the big fancy Art schools. But I traveled all over. London, Scotland, Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland. Just kinda everywhere, I guess.” Hiccup stammered, a little uneasy that all the attention was on him now. Astrid decided to change the subject seeing his discomfort and he sent her a silent look of appreciation and she sent him a smile in return. Conversation flowed very smoothly between the four of them after that, if someone had been watching from the outside they never would have guessed they all just met an hour ago. The rest of the night flew by, they all finished the dinner and gave their compliments to the chef. Astrid has to refrain herself from saying ‘I told you so’ on multiple occasions. 

Deciding no one wanted to leave quite yet they decided on a game of Clue, and Hiccup was incredible. They ended up playing 3 rounds and Hiccup one them all. 

“Astrid usually wins every time, she’s kinda the competitive one out of the group.” Heather informed Hiccup while Astrid was too busy trying to decide between if the murder weapon was a knife or the gun. 

“I’m concentrating.” She said through clinched teeth. A few more moves and she had her guess. “Okay, I’m going to solve the murder. It was committed by Professor Plum in the observatory with the knife.” 

“You sure, Astrid?” Hiccup looked at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“Pretty sure, Hiccup.” Not making eye contact. She wasn’t 100% sure her guess was correct but she couldn’t let her guard down. She reached over and opened the folder that held the answer. Once she looked she threw the cards down in the middle of the board. “I don’t get it, how do you do that?” She was no where near correct. 

“I don’t know, beginners luck?” Hiccup scratched his neck with a playful smile on his gorgeous lips. Not that she noticed them or anything...

“I do have to ask though, mind if I use the restroom?”

“Sure, it’s the first door on the left.” She told him and he went. Once the door was closed she was pulled closely in to Heathers side with much more force than she thought her friend had.

“Okay, when you said you had a new neighbor you didn’t say how gorgeous he was!” Heather exclaimed in hushed tone so he wouldn’t hear. Astrid reminded herself to not mention the feeling she had about Hiccup to Heather in the near future to avoid making this whole thing more awkward for her. 

“I guess I didn’t notice.” But even she could hear the lie in her tone of voice. 

“Whatever. You don’t miss that. And I think he thinks you’re pretty, he can’t take his eyes off of you.”

“Cmon, Heather. Yes he can and he probably doesn’t, I’m just trying to make a new friend. Nothing more.” She seriously tried to sound serious, but she could tell Heather wasn’t buying it. 

“Mmm yeah like a friendly friend.” Heather wiggled her eyebrows at her friend and Astrid just rolled her eyes. 

“No, I think she’s onto something there. He was looking pretty intently.” Eret piped up, his tone playful but something else hidden in his features. Astrid shook her head at both of them. The door to the bathroom opened and Hiccup rejoined them in the main room. 

“Well, Astrid, this has been the most fun I’ve had in a while. Thank you for inviting me over to join you guys.” He gave a charming smile. 

Heather piped up, “oh my, look at the time. Eret and I should be going, we’ve both got busy days tomorrow.”

“What?” Eret asked but his voice was muffled with another garlic knot he just put in his mouth. 

“Yeah, we’re meeting for a run? Remember?” But before he had a chance to answer, Heather was practically pulling him out the door. “See you Astrid, it was very nice to meet you Hiccup! Hopefully we’ll see you around!”

“Bye guys!” Totally embarrassed, she saw straight threw what her friend was doing and what she was hinting at. She turned to Hiccup and hoped he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

“They’re really nice, I’m really glad you invited me over. Ive been needing to make new friends. I have the one from high school and then my cousin, but he gets annoying after a while. Do you know Steven Jorgensen-“

“Wait.” She interrupted. “Snotlout’s your cousin?!” Her mouth hung open in disbelief. 

“So you’re the one who gave him that nickname?” He questioned. “I think you and I are going to get along quite nicely.” Hiccup stated. He caught her gaze and they held it for a second while an unspoken communication passed through them. “I’m afraid I must be going as well, but I really did have a great time.” She tried to not show her disappointment to his statement when a nervous look crossed his face. “Would you mind if-um, can I have, I mean,  
can we exchange numbers? Ya know, as much as I’m sure you enjoy being trampled by huge black labs with no self control, I think maybe a phone call will be better in the future.” He gave out a breathy laugh.

Astrid bit her lip to hide her smile as best she could, “Yeah, of course. Here, I’ll put it into your phone.” He fumbled in his picked and handed her his phone and she quickly saved her number. 

“Ok, yeah, I’ll just text you sometime then?” His whole face seemed to brighten and he ran a hand through his hair, a quirk she was starting to really like about him. 

“Yeah, maybe we can meet for coffee or something.” She suggested, returning the smile. She walked him to the door and they said their good nights. As she closed the door she couldn’t help but feel like her year might be better than she originally planned.


	5. You and I - chapter 5

Chapter 5

Anxious wouldn’t be word Astrid would use to describe herself, but it’s the word anyone else would use. The only thing she’s heard from Hiccup was a friendly “thank you again for having me over” text message about 15 minutes after he left her apartment. She followed it with “of course, I’m glad you came!” then nothing else after that. And it was driving her crazy, though she would never let anyone see that. The dinner was 2 nights ago, so 2 whole days without a single form of communication. She was starting to think she might have scared him off. Or he wasn’t doing that stupid “wait 3 days” thing. 

Astrid completed her days with her usual routine which consisted of a run, school prep work, lunch with either Heather or Eret and then a lot of just hanging around and trying to keep herself busy. Currently she and Heather were at the Rec Center on campus playing a little one on one basketball, which Astrid was clearly winning. 

“Why do you have to be so good at everything?” Heather mumbled as she walked to grab the ball from the corner of the court and bouncing it to Astrid. 

“I’m not, just quick on my feet.” Astrid dribbled past and shot the ball into the hoop. 

“Okay, I’m done! This isn’t fun anymore!” Heather exclaimed while throwing her hands in defeat. “This is why I chose a theatre major, not good with contact sports.”

“In order for it to be a contact sport, it actually has to make contact with you.” Astrid grinned at her, poking fun at her friend. She was thankful that Heather pulled her away from her apartment. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was starting to become ‘that girl’ who checks her phone every 5 minutes for a new text message or a missed phone call. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, it’s just not Astrid. She doesn’t wait around for anything, she just goes and gets it herself. So you can see why it didn’t make any sense to her why she can’t bring herself to text him for coffee first. 

“Astrid, I’m sure he’ll call.” She looked up to see that Heather was standing in front of her now looking at her friend with a careful expression. 

“I know, I’m not worried about that.” She lied.

“Mhmm, okay then.” Something in her voice made Astrid look up and she saw a smug smile playing at her lips.

“What? I’m not!” Astrid pressed her first statement. 

“I said okay! I totally, 100% believe that you are not worried about it.” Sarcasm dripping off every word. 

“Whatever.” Astrid dribbled the ball around the court trying to shake her mind.

“A, what is it about this guy that has you acting like this?” Honest curiosity took over her tone as she followed her. 

“I don’t know, Heather. I can just tell he’s going to be important somehow, though I don’t know how.” Astrid mumbled, confused by it all herself. She heard Heather take in a quick gasp and looked at her friend trying to not let a goofy smile take over her face. “No, Heather, please don’t. You know I’m not one for all this ‘lovey-dovey’ boy talk.” 

“I’m sorry, I’m just excited for you! This is the first guy that’s really caught your eye! Though, I can’t see why he wouldn’t. With those eyes, I’m surprised he doesn’t have girls lined up at his door to try and get hold of his fantastic backside-“

“Ok. WOW. Noticed all that didn’t you?” Astrid interrupted. “Would you like me to plan your wedding?” Casting a sideways glance to her. 

“No need, I’ve already planned everything.” Heather grinned linking arms as they walked off the court. Astrid pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the still blank screen and sigh. “How about we grab dinner to go and head back to my dorm to watch a movie?”

“I think that sounds great.” Astrid signed. She knew she needed a distraction, and she was thankful Heather asked if she wanted to hang out or else she might have convinced herself into something doing something crazy. Like walking straight to his door and demanding why he hasn’t text or called her yet. Did he not think the same thing as she did? Does he not see?

It was starting to get dark outside as they walked to Jays Diner to grab dinner. The campus was starting to become more alive with students moving in and hanging out in preparation for the start of school in a few days. Astrid’s mind wondered to Hiccup again and where he could be and what he was doing. She’s really got it bad for this kid, and she doesn’t even know his last name. 

As they were seated Heather told her all about the theatre program and the news to be shared there. She told Astrid her hopeful list for the upcoming Fall productions, and she was going to audition for the musical that was set to show in November. While she was talking Astrid’s phone starting ringing from its place in the middle of the table. 

“Is that him?!” Heather must have seen the sudden terror and joy mixed on her face. 

“What do I do?” She asked out loud, though she meant it to only be in her head. 

“You answer it!” She said it like it was so obvious, though Astrid still wasn’t sure. Why was she so nervous?

“You better do it quick. It’s going to go to voicemail.”

“Okay, I’m gonna answer it.” She picked it up, “Hello?” She answered the phone.

“H-hey! You picked up.” A bright and nasally voice came from the other side. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“No, no! Just at Jays with Heather.” Astrid tried her best to ignore the the fact that Heather was now on the same side of the booth trying to lean in and listen to their conversation.

“Ah, I gotcha.” He said with a shaky laugh. “Well, I just was calling to say hi and see how you were doing and-” he paused for a second, and Astrid’s heart almost jumped out of her chest. “And, I was wondering if you would maybe want to grab breakfast with me tomorrow?” 

“Yes!” She blurted out a little too quickly. “I mean, yeah. That sounds like fun!” She tried recovering her burst. 

Astrid could feel his smile from the other end of the phone. “Really? Okay, then! Um, I’ll pick you up at 7:00? Is that too early?” He asked, and she could imagine him running his hand through his hair. A trait she’s starting to really enjoy. 

“No, not at all! 7:00 it is.” She tried her best to hide the fact that she couldn’t stop smiling, and that Heather was practically jumping out of the skin with excitement. 

“Okay. 7:00, then. I can’t wait. I’ll see you soon, Astrid.” And with that, her stomach fluttered, a feeling she wasn’t sure about yet. 

“See you tomorrow, Hiccup.” She ended the call and turned to Heather who was waiting very impatiently. 

“So?! What’s tomorrow at 7:00?” Her friend pressed. 

“We're going to get breakfast.” Trying her best to sound as casual as possible. Heather looked ready to burst and let out a small, but a rather loud squeal. “Would you quiet down? People are starting to stare.” 

“I’m so excited for you!” Heather grabbed her arm and made no effort in lowering her voice. Astrid really didn’t mind, she was used to her friends tend to get overexcited about things. It’s one of the reasons they got along so nicely, they equaled out each other. “So? Do you know where you’re eating? Where you’re going to hike? You must really like this guy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you up willingly before 9 am unless it had something to do with school.”

“Okay, not fair! I was up at 6 the other day, and I went for a run.” Astrid defended herself, though there was some truth to Heather's statement. “I don’t mind getting up early at all, I can be a morning person when I choose to be.” 

“Which you haven’t. Ever.” She pointed out. “Not until now, anyway, which means this boy has you all hot and bothered.” Heather wiggled her eyebrows and Astrid suppressed an eye roll.

“It’s not like that at all. Yes, he is cute and charming but there’s no way of knowing if he thinks the same of me. So as of now, friends. That’s it.” She said in a stern, convincing voice. 

“Mhmm, okay. Not like you haven’t been dying for this moment when he would call you and ask you-“ 

“And we’re changing the subject now.” Astrid cut her off. “I found a new chair for my living room.” She was grasping at anything to get Heather's mind off of what just happened. 

“Really? What color? And also, this conversation isn’t over. I’m crashing at your place to help you get ready in the morning. Astrid didn’t even bother arguing, she knew she could convince heather any other way. But in a weird way she was thankful for her being there. They finished their dinner, the Hiccup conversation on hold until the morning.

———

“Okay, you can do this. No reason to be nervous, you’ve eaten breakfast before. This is no different.” Astrid told herself. It was almost 7:00, and Heather had already left after helping her get ready (despite Astrid’s many attempts of telling her she didn’t have too). They both decided on something simple: white tank top, blue and green plaid shirt, and forest green shorts with tennis shoes. Astrid pulled her long blonde hair into a French braid that fell between her shoulder blades and tried to stay calm. She had no clue where they were going which is adding onto the nervousness.

She grabbed her small backpack that held her keys, wallet and a few other necessities and a bottle of water and walked out of her door. They agreed, later on, to meet outside, since they lived so close to each other. She walked down the stairs to find Hiccup walking back from the direction of the dog park with Toothless on a leash not far behind. 

When she saw him all of her nerves and thoughts managed to subside. She watched him talk and play with Toothless on their short walk back and she immediately knew they were the best of friends which made his appeal factor raise 100%. He raised his head and caught her eye. 

“Hey! There you are.” He had a beaming crooked smile that made her loose feeling in her legs. 

“Here I am.” She shrugged and smiled at him. “Hey, Toothless.” She reached down to pet him and he wagged his tail and pressed his head into her hand. 

Hiccup chuckled, “I guess you two didn’t get a formal introduction. Astrid, this is Toothless. Toothless, Astrid.” He waved his arms between the two of them. 

“It’s very nice to meet you.” She squatted down on his level to scratch both ears with both hands, and toothless curled into her lap, his tongue hanging out as he enjoyed the attention. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him take to someone so easily.” Hiccup commented. “Usually he’s stand-offish at first, then turns into the huge teddy bear you see here.” He had a look of adoration on his face which made her blush, and they hadn’t even been together for 5 minutes. “You ready to go?” He asked. 

“Yeah, let's do it.” She told him. He lead the way to his car, which was a green Jeep Patriot that had a little paint peeling off the sides, and opened the passenger door for her. She hopped in with a ‘thank you’, and he returned it with a smile and closed the door. He opened the rear door for toothless and got in the driver's seat and started the engine. “So, where did you have in mind for breakfast?” Astrid asked, curious. There weren’t many places close to campus. 

“There’s a place I found a few months ago, it’s kinda a surprise.” He shot her a grin. “But it’s a drive away. About 30ish minutes or so. Is that okay?” His tone was careful and timid as he asked glancing at her for approval. 

“Of course, I’m always up for an adventure.” She gave him a smile and he seemed to relax a little. 

“I should have asked you sooner, but I also wanted it to be a surprise. Better to beg for forgiveness, I guess.” He chuckled. “Here, I brought you a bottle of water for the trip. And a breakfast bar in case you were starving.” He handed them to her, and she her heart swelled a tiny bit by the kind gesture. This guy was already so different than anyone she’s ever met. 

“Thank you, that was very nice of you.” She took a sip and looked outside of the window. They were driving away from the university and blurs of trees passed outside the window. They rode a little while in comfortable silence before Hiccup broke the silence.

“Do-“ He cleared his throat, “Do you mind if I put music on?” 

“Go ahead.” They exchanged smiles and he plugged in his phone to the radio. A familiar song came through the speakers, but it took a second for her to place the name. He looked at her for approval of the music, he must’ve noticed her slight confusion. 

“Is Dave Matthews okay?” He asked, slightly worried he chose the wrong music. 

“That’s who this is! I was trying to place the band, I love this song.” She grinned to herself sitting back enjoying the music. 

“Really?” He beamed, “Dave Matthews Band is my all time favorite. I love all of his songs. He just has this way with lyrics and he’s the most talented guitarist that I know of. I’m so glad you like this.” He was looking at her like it was Christmas morning, his face was so bright his smile was wide. He let out a little laugh and turned up the music. “Do you know any other songs?” 

“I mean, just the usual songs. The ones on the radio and a few others. I think my favorite is called ‘Why I Am’. My uncle plays that one album they have a lot.” She informed him. 

“My moms from the New Orleans area so growing up I always needed up listen to this type of music. It kinda reminds me of home, ya know?” He features fell into a content expression as he drove along and she couldn’t help but stare at him a little longer. She’s never really thought of Dave Matthews as a band that is someone’s favorite, just a band that plays quietly in the background or on the radio. But he looked so relieved and happy that someone else knew his favorite band, let alone someone who actually enjoyed them. Some unfamiliar song played on the radio while Hiccup sang quietly along. She glanced behind her in the backseat to check on Toothless, and when he noticed someone looking at him he jumped and put his face in her shoulder. 

“Hey, bud!” Hiccup laughed. “Let’s not slobber on her already, we need her to like us.” The both of them laughed at his statement and they rode along. Two more songs played before they reached where they were eating. 

“No way, I love this place!” Astrid exclaimed when she saw the building. “My mom use to take me here when I was little all the time, she use to work at the hospital just right up the street.” Hiccup parked and she went to open her door, but before she could he was there opening it for her and helping her down. He reached out for her hand and she grabbed it she seemed to lose the feeling in her arm. She looked down at their hands and noticed his hands weren’t as rough as she would have thought with him studying to be engineering, they were soft and warm and welcoming. He let go too quick for her liking but decided it was best. ‘We’re just friends, I don’t even know for sure if this is a date.’ She reminded herself.

“I’m not going to lie, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. I found this restaurant a few weeks ago because they allow dogs on their patio, and their omelets are to die for.” Hiccup said as he opened the back door and Toothless sprang out of the truck, Hiccup had to jog a little to catch up with him. “Toothless enjoys them too, and just can’t wait as you can tell!” He called over his shoulder to her. She laughed and started walking to catch up with them. The greeter must’ve recognized Hiccup because she gave him a little too friendly of a smile and looked between the two of them with the faintest look of disappointment, but Astrid could have imagined that. She led them to a booth on the patio, handed them their menus and said their waiter would be with them soon. 

“This is a surprise though, I haven’t been here in years,” Astrid said while looking at the menu. “And I’ve grown to like more breakfast foods other than waffles, and everything looks amazing. You mentioned the omelets?”

“They’re our favorites!” He smiled down at Toothless, who was laying under the bench Hiccup was sitting on. “But the skillets are also very good. The farm fresh is probably the better one.” 

The waitress came to the table with a pot of coffee and a smile. “Hey there, stranger. How’s it been? We haven’t seen you in a week.” A pretty, older lady came to the table. “Hey there, Toothless.” He barked in response and she smiled at Astrid, obviously waiting for Hiccup to introduce themselves.

“Hey, Sarah! Yeah, busy moving into my new place, couldn’t make it over this way.” He chuckled, and the waitress glanced to Astrid. “Oh-this is Astrid, my-my friend.” Sarah reached her hand towards her. 

“It’s nice to see our Henry here has brought someone else besides Toothless.” Sarah laughed and put her hand on Hiccups shoulder while he blushed. “Do you want your usual order?” 

“Yes please, but with ham.” Sarah poured them two cups of coffee and asked if Astrid needed a minute to look over. 

“I think I’ll have the farm fresh skillet, it came recommended.” She handed Sarah her menu and Sarah went to place the order. She looked to Hiccup to find he was staring at her. She glanced down slightly embarrassed and took a sip of her coffee. 

“How are your eyes that blue?” He was leaning on one hand with a dreamy look. Her head snapped up and his arm fell from his chin, knocking over his cup and hot coffee went across the table into her lap. She gasped at the sudden warmth on her shirt and in her lap, and reached for the cup. “Oh-oh my gosh. I’m SO sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean too! I don’t know why I said that or did that. I’m sorry, here let me help.” He stood up to grab more napkins from the waitress, and came back and handed her a ridiculous amount. She stared at him for a second and then burst into laughter. She tried to calm herself, but couldn’t help herself. The poor look on his face with both adorable and priceless. 

He stood there, tall and awkward, holding the pile of napkins. “Hiccup, thank you, I’m sorry-“ she went into another fit, it must have been contagious because soon Hiccup was laughing along with her. They were now on the same side of the booth laughing so hard they had to hold onto each other for support. When the laughter subsided Hiccup was holding her arm and she was very aware of how close he was. He cleared his throat.

“I really am sorry.” He was looking in her eyes. “This date is already off to a great start.” He said with a sarcastic undertone. 

“This is a date?” She questioned him, with a quirk in her eyes. He looked ready to pass out then, but held his ground and adverted his eyes a bit. 

“Yea-yeah, I’m mean...if you want it to be.” He looked hopeful and so adorable she couldn’t hold back the huge smile that spread across her face. 

“I would like that very much.” They probably seemed silly to everyone around them, but at that moment neither one cared. They were interrupted with someone close by clearing their throat. 

“Henry, what are we going to do with you?” Sarah laughed, placing their food on the table, which caused more laughter from the two. 

The rest of the date went smooth, they ate and talked about anything and everything. When Hiccup dropped her off at their complex she found herself eager for the next time they would see each other. After all, he promised it would be soon.


	6. You and I - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Cmon, Hofferson. Focus.” Astrid mumbled to herself. It was the first track practice of the season, she had to be mentally 100% into this practice. But a certain auburn male sitting in the bleachers made it rather difficult. 

Astrid was stretching with the other girls while they waited for their coach to join them from her office. Classes officially started today, and just as Astrid had thought she was more than prepared for the day. Starting from her 8:00am class to now, her day went just as she planned. The only thing that had thrown her off her course was the moment Hiccup walked into her Calculus class class. She knew her degree requirements overlapped the Computer Engineering program but not in a million years would she thought they would be sitting together in the same class. Hoped and wished, maybe, but never actually thought it would happen.

They hadn’t seen each other since their date to The Egg Basket for breakfast. She invited him over for Sunday dinner, but he said that he was going home to Georgia for the weekend. They had texted a bit here and there, but nothing crazy.

And then today happened. After class Hiccup asked if she was free that night to hang out, and she of course was. He had looked so genuinely happy to see her that all of her past negative thoughts went away with one of his famous smiles. One thing lead to another and now they were going to have dinner in The Circle at sunset-a grassy area of campus where most of the students go to hang out in between classes. Her memories are a little fuzzy after that, because she’s not sure how he ended up in the practice field bleachers. But, he was there. Sketch book, laptop and all. 

Astrid continued to stretch when Jess, one of her track mates, walked over and asked how her summer was and what her big plans are for this year. Jess was a chatter box so she really did most of the talking while Astrid’s mind drifted other places. She snuck another glance in his direction and Jess noticed her doing so. “Oh my, you’re the one who brought the hot auburn guy, aren’t you?” Jess gasped. It took her a second to realize Jess was talking to her. 

“Mmm?” Astrid raised her eyebrows. “Oh. Yeah, he’s my neighbor.” She said with a shrug. It wasn’t a big deal he was here, was it? 

“He’s so handsome. All the girls noticed him when he first sat down, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off of you.” Jess wiggled her eyebrows. 

It took everything in her power to not look over her shoulder. “I’m the only one here he knows, it would make sense.” She mumbled. Astrid stood up and bent down to stretch her legs, accidentally giving him a perfect view of her backside. She caught his eye and she couldn’t help but grin at the intense blush that suck onto his face. She shook the unwanted thoughts that were creeping into her mind away, “Where is Coach? I’d like to get started this season.” Trying her best to change the subject. She wasn’t exactly sure what she and Hiccup were considered and didn’t want everyone asking a million questions. 

“Alright, ladies! Let’s gather around!” Their coach’s voice sounded with impeccable timing. She sighed with relief and jogged over to where the rest of the team was gathering. Thankful for the distraction, she and her team mates split off in ranks they thought they were going to be put in. “Hofferson!” She turned to see her Coach standing in front of her. 

“Yes, Coach?” Astrid started to feel nervous even though a smiled played on her coach’s face. She was not an intimidating woman once you got to know her, but at first looks she looked like she could throw you across the track if she wanted too.

“You had quite the impressive season last year, what I expected when you were pulled for a full scholarship here. I’m expecting a lot from you this season. I just know you’re going to break records this year!” A hand clamped on her shoulder and she tried to not buckle under the sudden weight. 

“Thanks Coach, I’ll try to not let you down.” She threw her best smile she reserved for teachers and athletic supervisors. 

“I know you won’t, Hofferson.” She gave her a proud smile and a slight gleam her in eye, but it went away as soon as she addressed the team, “alright ladies, let’s start with a quick mile for a warm up. 

Once practice was over she left with a proud looking Coach and a best personal record from the 60m and a pretty impressed and pumped team. Smiling to herself she walked over to where Hiccup was sitting and he was already gathering his stuff, looking way too exited for someone who just watched a first season track practice. 

“Wow, you were amazing! I mean, I didn’t know people could run that fast! How do you do it?” He asked as he tripped over his feet trying to climb down the few steps to get to talk to her face to face by the fence. 

Her heart swelled, for more reasons than one. She never really had anyone but her parents and her coach look so proud of her for something in her mind was a small victory, looking at him made her feel like she was back in middle school after her first track meet. All the excitement for the sport itself came back, not just going through the motions to keep a scholarship. That and when he gets exited he looks like he was just told he’s getting to go to Disney World, an expression she could watch all day. “Thank you!” She laughed, “it was nothing really, I’ve been trying to beat my best for a while. You just came on a good day.” 

“Still! That was amazing, you are amazing.” He was beaming until the last bit, “uh-I mean, very fast. And very athletic, I couldn’t do that in a million years.” He stammered over himself, trying his best to not make this awkward. Astrid however thought it was adorable. 

“I’m sure you could, just takes practice and determination.” She glanced at her watch, “I should probably shower off first then we can go?” He blushed a slight shade of pink at the mention of her showering. 

“Yea-yeah, sure. That’s great, that works for me.” He grabbed his bag and down the stairs to where she was standing. “I’ll meet you back home, then?”

“No need, there’s a locker room in that building.” She pointed in the direction of the field house/gym area that was close to the practice fields. “That is, if you don’t mind waiting another 15 minutes?” She glanced at him with hopeful eyes.

“Of course not, I’d wait another hour if it meant to spend time with you.” He shot his crooked smile over his shoulder at her, and now it was her turn to flush a shade of pink. They walked across the track field towards the gym and she couldn’t help but notice all the girls were clumping and whispering and glancing at the two of them. In an effort to distract Hiccup from noticing she asked how the rest of his day went. 

“It went alright, I learned that I was way over prepared for pretty much everything. I don’t have to do any homework for the next two weeks so that’s a plus, I guess.” He chuckled. “What about you?” He mused. 

“Oh, about the same, really. Though I did that on purpose, I always try to stay 2 weeks ahead of the curriculum at a minimum in all my classes. My dad always said “Hofferson’s are always a head of the game, in every way”, so it’s embedded into me I guess.” She said, looking down. Her habits can come across as tough and unconventional but, they were who she was so he might as well get to know them little by little. 

“I think that’s amazing, I wish I had that kind of determination. I usually start out the first semester in good shape, but by the second semester it always falls.” He glanced over his shoulder, “do people always stare at you? Or do I have something attached to my forehead that I don’t know about?” Astrid could tell he was getting a little nervous that people were starting to notice them, or more in-particular him, and he how doesn’t know that is beyond her. 

“We don’t usually see new people at practice, probably just curious. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Astrid tried her best to brush off the fact that LITERALLY everyone was watching the two of them like hawks. Once they were inside she showed him a little corner of the lobby he could sit at to get the best WiFi signal and headed toward the ladies locker room with a quick “I’ll be 15 minutes!”. 

Astrid quickly undressed and showered off, not wanting to waste much time. She dried off and put on a pair of light denim high waisted jeans with a white pocket shirt and wrapped her hair in a towel. Once she was in front of the mirror she took a deep breath and tried to keep the slight smile that was threatening to show off her lips. She dried and braided her hair and quickly applied a light amount of makeup. Once she was done she put her things away in her locker and started to walk out towards the lobby when her phone rang from her purse, and Heather’s face came on her screen. 

“Whatcha doin’?” She asked, knowing full well that she had plans with Hiccup. 

“About to go skydiving, what about you?” Astrid replied sarcastically. 

“Falling hard for a certain green eyed cutie, huh?” Heather’s face wasn’t on the screen but she could hear the smug smile in her voice. Astrid stopped walking, making sure she was far enough away so Hiccup didn’t hear the conversation. 

“Ha ha, proud of that one aren’t you? And don’t call him cute.” Astrid tried her best to keep the jealous tone out of her voice. 

“Why? Only you can call him cute, now?” Heather pressed. 

“Can I help you with something? Why did you call?” She changed the subject and it seemed to work cause Heathers face appeared. 

“The guys, Eret and I are going to the new bar close by, you and Hiccup should come!” Heather has propped her phone on something and she was touching up her makeup. She looked way more dressed up than Astrid was, and she didn’t have time to go home and change. 

“I don’t know, H... we were just going to have a chill night in The Circle. He might not want to go to a bar.” Astrid said, a little apprehension in her voice. 

“C’mon, at least ask him! He might surprise you, and plus I need you there. I might do something drastic if you’re not.” Heather pleaded. 

Astrid sighed, “I’ll ask him and I’ll text you if he says okay. What bar?” She wasn’t the one to know what was new and popular, so she had no idea where Heather was referring too. 

“It’s called The Dead Dragon. It’s on Raven street, you can probably walk and get there in 15 minutes from campus.” Heather told her. 

“Okay, I’ll text you soon.” She hung up with Heather and turned the corner back towards the lobby and spotted a girl that was new to the track team sitting very close to Hiccup and talking to him in a way that made her good mood turn sour really quick. The girl was a tall, skinny attractive brunette with shorts that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She set her best Hofferson scowl on her features and walked over to where they were. As she walked closer she noticed that Hiccup was blushing a light shade of pink and rubbing the back of his neck looking very uncomfortable, which made her feel a little better that he clearly wasn’t enjoying the obvious flirting. The girl had an obnoxious laugh and Astrid cleared her throat once she was standing right behind the girl (Hannah was her name?) and she turned around to one annoyed Astrid. 

“What’s so funny?” She asked, crossing her arms. 

Hannah was touching Hiccups arm, which made her blood boil. When this happened, Astrid can be very dangerous. “Henry here was just showing me his sketches.” She noticed she called him ‘Henry’ and not ‘Hiccup’, which means he didn’t introduce himself as such which told her only certain people in his life get to call him ‘Hiccup’, and that made her happy.

“No, you took them from me.” Hiccup mumbled under his breath. 

“What was that?” Annoying girl asked, smiling sweetly over her shoulder. 

“Nothing, can I have that back, please?” He asked, already reaching over to grab the small black book. 

Astrid cleared her throat, “well, Henry, are you ready to go?” Both sharing the same “ready to be away from this situation” expression. 

“Y-yes! Please, let’s go. It was good to meet you, but we have plans. We’re gonna go now. Bye!” Hiccup quickly shoved everything in his bag and got up before Hannah protest anything. 

“Oh. Ok, will I see you around?” Hannah asked with disappointment in her tone. 

“Probably not.” Astrid and Hiccup said at the same time, which caused them both to blush a little. “I’m really very busy all the time, not much room for a social life.” Hiccup quickly explained himself. 

He started walking towards the door and Astrid followed behind him. She had a feeling he didn’t want to be there any more than she did. Once they were outside he breathed a huge sigh of relief and turned towards her. 

“She came out of no where!” He laughed, “I felt like a lions prey! That’s never happened to me before, what did she even want?”

There were a few ways Astrid could answer that question but for some reason she asked, “that’s really never happened to you before?”

“No! Girls usually avoid me, like by all means. Like I have the Black Plague.” He cried, waving his arms around. 

Astrid found this very hard to believe, but before she could say anything he kept on rambling. “I mean, I don’t know how people do it. Take you for example, guys must talk to you constantly, I mean-look at you! You’re gorgeous!” He must’ve noticed what he said, because his eyes went huge and his cheeks a deep shade of red. “I-i mean, what I’m trying to say is... well, um-i mean you’re very attractive-“ He stammered over his words while Astrid stopped on the sidewalk, laughing at how cute it was when he did that. 

“Hiccup!” She stopped him before he hurt himself, “thank you for the compliment, but it doesn’t happen to me. Like, ever. I’d be weirded out too.” She smiled at him, and he relaxed a little though the blush still stayed. 

“For some reason I find that hard to believe.” He laughed a little. “So, where did you want to grab food?”

“Well, how do you feel about going to a bar instead?” She asked, hoping this night wouldn’t turn awkward.


	7. You and I - Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Hiccup was all for the sudden change of plans, so Astrid didn’t know why she was so nervous. Maybe it was because they were going to be together around everyone? In a public place, versus just them two? Sure, they hung out first with Eret and Heather, but they were like an extension of herself. And he even mentioned that he was looking forward to seeing them again. But just like earlier during practice, she doesn’t want people asking them questions that neither of them really knew how to answer. 

A thousand different scenarios that could happen tonight ran through her mind as they entered. It was the newest bar on Raven Street, where all the nightlife happens around the university. It had a rustic, Viking feel to it-very much in theme with the university’s mascot, which is a Viking. There were Berk U flags and newspapers clippings and photos from major sports achievements hanging on the walls. It was one long bar with what looked like a pretty good range of selections, a few tables and booths lined the walls of the bar. Out back was a good sized patio with lights that hung from tree to tree over the seating area and a small dance floor in the middle. There was a stage set up and they had a local band playing live music.

They heard the group before they saw them because Eret and Snotlout were having an arm wrestling contest and the others weren’t being so quiet about cheering them on. They had 2 tables pushed together towards the back of the patio and Heather was the first one to notice them.

“Astrid!” She waved them over, catching the attention of the table. Snotlout’s head swiveled so fast she almost rolled her eyes out of habit but his confused look stopped her. 

“Who brought Hic-dweeb?” He asked with a slightly annoyed tone. 

“That’d be me, Snot. Why? Do you have a problem with it?” She crosses her arms defensively and caught Hiccup grinning out of the corner of her eye. Whatever Snot was gonna say next was cut off by Eret pulling Snot into a headlock and ruffling his hair.

“Hey, man! Stop, you’re gonna mess up the do!” Snot pulled himself out of Eret’s grasp and frantically tried to straighten his hair back in order. He mumbled something no one could really understand and sat by the twins at the end of the table. 

Eret laughed, “We’re glad you two could make it! Hiccup, it’s good to see you again, mate!” Astrid smiled at the look on both of their faces. Eret’s face full of joy and Hiccups was full of relief that the others truly enjoyed seeing him, it made her feel silly for ever being worried in the first place. 

“Thanks for letting us interrupt your date.” Heather was right next to her, but she said it loud enough for the other to hear. 

“It was not a date, and could you be any louder? They might hear you.” Astrid took a seat at the table next to her. “I don’t think it was a date anyway, we only made the plans this morning.” 

“Listen, everyone in this bar besides maybe Snot, who’s clearly lacking brain cells, can tell you two are a thing. Why don’t you just admit it already? You don’t have to say you’re dating, BUT there is some serious sexual tension between you two.” Heather sat down next to her and took a sip of her drink. Astrid tried her best to not blush. 

“Do you want anything to drink?” A slightly nasally voice was on her right and when she turned her head she almost bumped his head for how close he was. The blush she was trying to avoid was now in full effect due to her awkwardness. She’s got to get that under control. 

“Yeah, um, I’ll take anything on draft.” She said with a small smile. 

He beamed at her, “alright, milady, I’ll be right back.” When he turned around she had to try so hard to not watch him go. 

“Seriously, just get together already.” Heather laughed to her left. 

“I’ve only known him for about 2 weeks, it’s still way too soon to even have thoughts of ‘getting together’.” Astrid tried her best to move the conversation along before the twins and Snot overheard. 

“Alright, my lovely ladies, first rounds on me! What can I get you!” Eret nudged his way in between the two girls and sat down. 

“You’re too late, E. Astrid’s first round is on Hiccup.” Heather wiggled her eyebrows at him. “And maybe later Hiccup will be on her-“

“Woah! Okay, okay! I’ve already heard enough!” Eret was laughing, but there was something in his features that made her wish Hiccup would arrive with her drink. “So, Hiccup, aye?” His attention was on her now. 

“Yeah, he’s kinda great. I guess I might like him a little. But, really, let’s not make it a whole thing. He might not feel the same.” Astrid mumbled and tried to wave off the conversation. Eret still didn’t know about their date the other day. 

“Well, he’d be an idiot not too!” Astrid glanced at his, his voice was playful but the look he had seemed... off putting to her. “You’re a great catch, A!” Where was a distraction when you needed one? 

As if on cue there was a rather loud outburst from the end of the table from Snot who was cheering the twins on with some outrageous, very twin like competition. “E, you should probably break them up before they hurt themselves.” Heather said, and Astrid and Eret agreed. 

“Alright, mates! Knock it off before we get kicked out on our first time here!” Protests followed shortly after. 

Heather looked a little concerned and as soon as he was out of ear shot she asked, “Um, you saw that expression too, right?”

“Yeah. He’s been acting a little off lately.” Astrid was glad Heather also noticed but also nervous because if Astrid’s suspicions were true she knew that would break Heathers heart. 

A worried looked crossed her face, “what do you mean?”

“I think he’s just stressed about wrestling and school. You know he has to work hard to keep his scholarship.” Astrid tried to calm Heathers thoughts. She could practically see the gears in Heathers head turning. 

“I don’t think so, A. I think it’s something else...” Heather mumbled. 

“I wouldn’t worry too much. You know that he would come to us if something really was wrong.” Astrid could tell Heather still wasn’t convinced but she just mumbled a “you’re right”. 

“I’m gonna go check on Hiccup.” Astrid decided to remove herself from the equation and wandered inside the bar to find Hiccup waiting for their drinks.   
“Thought you maybe had gotten lost.” She slid onto a stool next to him at the bar, and he threw a smirk over his shoulder. 

“This place is crazy! I mean-they’ve got the whole Viking demeanor down to a science.” He gestured around the main area of the bar. 

“Yeah, Berk fans can get a little intense. Just wait until you meet my dad.” Her breath hitched in her throat, “not saying that’s anytime soon or anything.” She bit her tongue hoping he wouldn’t really notice that statement. She looked at him and noticed he was fixated on something.

“Is.. is that you?” He pointed to a picture hanging just above the bar. She looked up and looked at a picture of her plowing through a finish line. This picture was taken last year at the biggest race of the season where she made a time record and not to mention the first freshman to ever come in 1st place, but the last thing she wanted was to draw more attention to herself. 

“Oh. Yeah, it’s from a race last year. Wasn’t anything major.” She said to Hiccup as the bar tender sat their drinks in front of them. 

“I wouldn’t say it was “nothing major, Astrid broke a couple of school records that race. You’re a pretty lucky guy.” Brad, the bartender, said to them with a wink at Hiccup before he walked away to help other people. 

“Wow, you are amazing.” He handed her her drink with a genuine smile. She nodded a thank you and looked down partly because she was slightly embarrassed and because she didn’t know what to say. She knew she was a talented athlete but didn’t enjoy showing off or even talking about it. It’s what she loved doing and what she was good at, she was always worried about coming off cocky or arrogant. Plus there was the fact that a boy, a very cute boy in fact, was giving her attention. It made her feel... giddy. And she isn’t use to giddy. 

They weaved through the crowd back to the patio area and sat at the same spot. Before they knew it there were 2 blondes sitting across from them leaning over the table looking directly at them. 

“When did you two start dating?” Ruff asked abruptly.

Astrid choked on her drink. “What?” She coughed. 

“I mean, I wasn’t even aware that you two knew each other.” Tuff commented next to Ruff. “We could have used the help the other day helping you move in. I swear, he has more boxes of sketches and books than anything else.” Tuff downed his beer, which Astrid knew wasn’t a good idea. “Are you aware you lived across from each other?” 

“Uh, yeah actually. That’s how we met, it it was after you guys finished helping me move in.” Hiccup said with slight confusion. 

“Touché, Hiccup. Touché.” Ruff nodded, which just left the two of them confused. 

“Well, this is great because I guess I win.” Tuff leaned back with his hands behind his head only to find that he was sitting on a bench and there wasn’t a chair back and almost fell backwards. 

“Uh.. win?” Hiccup asked skeptically.

“Yeah. I bet that you two would meet and start dating on your own. Ruff bet that we would have to introduce you two and then start dating.” Tuff said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“How did you know we’d even like each other?” Astrid pressed against her better judgement.

“You see, my round face friend, Tuff and I are kinda love experts. We can immediately tell when two people are compatible.” Ruff grinned and wiggled her eyebrows at the two of them from across the table.

Astrid didn’t really know how to respond. They weren’t dating, technically, but she didn’t want to say that and give Hiccup the wrong idea about whatever was between them. 

“We’re... not dating.” Hiccup beat her to the punch, but he didn’t sound very convincing. She glanced and him and could tell he was having the same thoughts as her. “We are just friends.” 

“Mhmm and I don’t have a chicken named Chicken.” Tuff countered back.

“What?” Hiccup had confusion written all over his expression, Astrid quickly came up with a plan to possibly get rid of the twins. 

“You know, I’ve heard they have all you can eat nachos here.” Astrid crossed her arms on the table hoping that would capture their attention enough to leave the two of them at peace. 

“Well, if that’s the case, we must bid you two adieu.” And they took off faster than they came. 

“Well, that was...weird.” Hiccup mumbled while sipping his beer. 

Astrid laughed, “that’s the twins.” She turned more to face him on the bench. The comments of the group had her wondering... are they actually dating? Would he consider them to be? What did he think they were? She took a deep breath, there was only one way to find out. 

“So-“ they both said at the same time. 

“You first.” She laughed and leaned more on the table.

“No, no-you first.” He was slightly nervous she could tell and she lost all courage to ask him flat out. She was usually a straight forward person but he made her question every move she made. 

“I was just gonna ask how your first day was.” She knew it was a cheap way out, but she didn’t care. It was better than scaring him off. 

But before he could answer there was a massive shape squeezing in between them. “So, all I wanna know when you two met. And how.” Snotlout was practically oozing with jealousy which caused her to uncontrollably scowl at him. 

“Why does it matter?” She said though clinched teeth. She was starting to get annoyed by all the unwanted attention directed towards her and Hiccup. Why can’t people just accept the fact she’s allowed to like somebody and that it’s none of their business? 

“But I thought you were still seeing that one girl? Oh, what was her name? The one from England.” Snot turned to ask Hiccup. 

Everything around her seemed to stop and a she could feel her heart sinking into the deepest pit of her stomach. He had a girlfriend? That didn’t make any sense, but at the same time made all the sense in the world. Of course he was seeing someone else, there’s no way he couldn’t have been. 

Astrid didn’t know what to say, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at Hiccup who she could feel looking at her. She felt so stupid. The first guy she could really see herself with and he had a stupid girlfriend. Luckily she didn’t have to be the first one to comment because she heard him say to Snot, “no, we’re not. And you knew that, I told you I wasn’t interested in her when we met in the first place.” She suck a glance at him and she could see a mixture of emotions on his face. His cheeks were flushed like he was embarrassed, but his eyes were glaring at Snot with a dangerous expression almost as if Snot just crossed a line between him and Hiccup. 

She blinked a couple of times to clear her head. “Wait, so you’re not seeing someone else?” She heard herself say. Hiccup looked past Snotlout to her and his expression softened immediately. 

“No, no. We are not even remotely together anymore, I haven’t spoke to her since I came back to the states. I’m not sure why my cousin brought it up.” He shot a very annoyed look at Snot. 

“Hey, it’s not my fault! I totally forgot you mentioned that!” Snot raised his hands in defense. The look on Astrid’s face could have killed a man at close range and she looked Snot directly in the eyes. 

“I think you should go, Snot. Now.” Poison practically dripping off tongue. 

“Astrid, don’t be that way! It was an honest mistake.” He tried to put his arm around her shoulders when she grabbed his wrist and twisted it so she was holding it behind his back. 

“Snot, you have until the count of 3 to walk to the end of the table. One-“ 

“Okay! Jeeze, I’m going. Remind me to never mess with Hiccstrid again.” He mumbled and went to sit by the twins who had returned with an unnecessary amount of nachos. The event of Astrid almost breaking Snot’s arm (again) caught the attention of Heather and Eret.

“What was that about?” Eret asked. 

“It was Snotlout being typical Snotlout, putting himself in a situation where he’s going to get hurt.” Astrid downed what was left of her beer. She didn’t want to be here anymore, she much preferred when the plans where they were going to be alone and she didn’t know about his past love life. 

“I think they’re about to start trivia.” Heather piped up, obviously trying to change the subject. 

She sent the group a rather unpleasant look, “I’m going to the bathroom.” She’s shot up from the table and headed back inside. But before she got too far she glanced at Hiccup and couldn’t help but notice the disappointed look on his face. Astrid was NOT the jealous type. She didn’t like the way it made her feel or how it made her look. But this was different. She hated almost believing Snotlout, but... what if they still had feelings for each other? Astrid couldn’t and wouldn’t be anyone’s second choice. 

She opened the bathroom stall to one annoyed looking Heather. 

“What the hell was that?” She stood her ground in front of her, Astrid knew she wasn’t going to move first. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Trying to brush off all of the very unwanted conversation that was about to happen. 

Heather sighed, “listen, A. Snotlout is a dumbass, and Hiccup is 100% smitten with you. He just word vomited everything to Eret and I.” 

Astrid’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “really? What did he say?”

“Hey, scouts honor! I’m not saying a word. You just have to trust me on this one.” Heather moved out of her way so she could wash her hands. “He’s a really nice guy, Astrid. I don’t think he would hurt you. You two are practically perfect for each other.” 

Astrid sighed, deep down she knew what Heather said was true. He wouldn’t hurt her, and maybe they were perfect for each other. She turned around with a sheepish look, “it was just knowing that there is another girl out there that has been romantically involved with, I didn’t like it being brought up. And by Snotlout of all people!” 

Heather stifled a small laugh at the sake of her friend, “Astrid, no one likes hearing those things. And Snotlout is a dumbass, everyone knows that. But I know you, don’t get scared and run away from this.” Astrid could always count on Heather to bring her back down to reality just a tiny bit. 

Astrid sighed nodded her head in agreement. “So, there’s no way you’ll tell me what he said?”

At that Heather really did laugh, “I think it’ll be much better coming from him. When you two go home together tonight.” She wiggled her eyebrows and Astrid couldn’t help the blush that crept up her neck onto her cheeks.

“Gosh, H, don’t tell me what you really think!” She sarcastically said as they walked back to the table. She noticed Hiccup before he noticed her, and her heart squeezed a little bit at the look on his face. He looked so worried and she felt awful that she was the cause of that. As they got closer to the table him and Eret both noticed them and Hiccups expression turned to one of relief. 

“Hey!” He blurted out before he knew what he was going to say. Eret smiled at the two of them and Heather whispered something in his ear that made him stifle a laugh. 

“Would you maybe wanna go? We could still get dinner.” She offered to Hiccup, hoping he’d say yes. 

“Y-yeah! Yes, let’s go! I’m starving.” He got up so quickly he stumbled and almost fell over. “Dah!” He laughed a little uncomfortably. 

Astrid grinned at how cute he was when he gets a little riled up. She tuned to Heather and Eret who where gawking like Astrid and Hiccup were their favorite TV show. She rolled her eyes ever so slightly, “alright guys, we’re gonna head out. I’ll text you both later.” 

“Don’t get into too much trouble, you two!” Heather called out like her mom would. 

“Hiccup, have her home by 11:00 at the latest!” Eret said in the equal tone as Heather. 

“Alright, mom and dad. Bye!” Astrid grabbed Hiccups arm and dragged him away before anything else embarrassing could be spoken. 

It was a little awkward between them once they were out of the bar and down the street a bit. Neither of them spoke and walked a little closer to each other, very clear both of them hoping that the other would speak first. 

They walked for about 5 minutes before Hiccup spoke up, “her name is Sarah.” 

Astrid looked at him, “what?” She asked confused. 

“Her name is Sarah.” He repeated, even though his voice quivered a little, she guesses from nerves. 

Oh. She knew was he was trying to do, and she didn’t want him to feel like he had to explain anything because of her actions earlier. She felt silly for reacting at all to anything Snotlout said.

“Hiccup, you don’t have to. It’s really okay!“

“Well, since it was brought up, and by my annoying cousin no less, you deserve to know.” He have her a crooked smile and rubbed the back of his head and took a deep breath and her heart skipped a beat. “We met in England when I was studying abroad. We were close friends and then one day out of the blue she told me that she liked me, but I didn’t feel the same way. Like, at all.” He had stopped right in front of her. “The only reason I told Steve is because he kept bothering me about ‘European chicks’. I should have known better than to tell him anything, no matter how annoying he can be.” Both of them laughed at the statement. Hiccup looked at her with such an endearing look she almost couldn’t look him in the eyes, but she held his gaze. “Astrid, these past weeks have been some of the best in a long time. I um- I really like you.” He stammered and rushed the last park, casting his eyes down. “And I hope that you could possibly feel the same for me?”

Astrid noticed she hadn’t breathed since he started his speech, and she was so shocked she just stood there staring at him. When she didn’t respond immediately he tried to backtrack, “I know we’ve only known each other for a short while! But, there’s just something about you.” He started to ramble and stumble over his words. “And, not to mention you’re gorgeous! Lord only knows why you’re hanging out with me. You’re also funny and extremely sweet, you were really the first person here that talked to me and didn’t want something in return and-“ 

“I like you too!” Astrid didn’t have control over her own voice and blurted it out before she knew what she was doing. Hiccup started at her for a beat longer then a huge grin broke out across his face. 

“Really?” He asked, hopefulness and disbelief in his voice. 

“Of course I do! You’re pretty great.” She was looking down, and he didn’t say anything in response. She glanced up at him and he was beaming at her. 

“Would.. would you maybe want to come back to my place?” He asked, and then his eyes suddenly went huge. “Not like that! I mean, not that I wouldn’t want to! No!” He placed a hand over his face, “let me try this again.” He took a breath and she giggled at his reaction. “Would you want to come over, order take out and maybe watch a movie? And I’m sure Toothless would love to see you again.”

She smiled at him, “I would love too. But only if you promise to tell me how he got his name.” She gave his arm a playful punch. 

“What was that for?” He exclaimed, obviously playing along with the joke. 

“For everything.”


End file.
